Emily Moses spent four years selling houses after she graduated from high school. Now she’s in a new market, selling Division II messaging and strategy as an intern for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

The MIAA certainly has benefited with a quality appointment to a position funded by a Division II conference grant. For Moses, the rewards are just as tangible. The Richmond, Missouri, native is doing everything from publishing newsletters, writing press releases and staffing coaches meetings to helping with compliance matters and championships administration.

“I can’t imagine a conference giving an intern more opportunities to excel,” Moses said.

It wasn’t long ago that Moses might not have imagined being in athletics administration at all. But as a classic Division II “nontraditional student,” she ditched real estate when the market collapsed and enrolled at Central Missouri to find out what she really wanted from life.

Intrigued with athletics from her days as a multisport student-athlete in high school (including four letters in softball), Moses craved a connection to college sports. Since she was in a non-athletics public relations curriculum at Central Missouri, she figured her best way inside the sports door was to volunteer. Turns out one of her professors, Joseph Moore, happened to be the school’s former sports information director. He hooked her up with MIAA media man Matt Newbery, who was all too happy to accept Moses’ offer to help out at the 2008 MIAA softball and baseball tournaments.

“The MIAA staff members were the most welcoming and courteous people I’ve ever worked with,” Moses said. “They really utilized me in the areas they needed, but they also knew what my interests were.”

Not only did she help administer the two tournaments, MIAA personnel also made sure to mingle Moses among staff from member schools. That experience led Moses to be hired part time with the Central Missouri media relations staff, a job she continues to hold.

Meanwhile, MIAA Commissioner Jim Johnson was crafting an internship for the 2008-09 academic year. Moses turned out to be a perfect fit. Now a junior at Central Missouri, Moses makes the short trip from the UCM campus in Warrensburg to the MIAA office in Kansas City at least two days per week.

And if all that isn’t enough, Moses also works part time for the Warrensburg parks and recreation department. “I am an adult, after all, and I have bills to pay,” she quipped.

Johnson said Moses has made the most of the MIAA internship opportunity. Among projects she took from start to finish was a series of daily newsletters during the recent MIAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium. The printed publications included stories about MIAA initiatives and accomplishments from member schools, as well as one-page inserts from the day’s on-court action. They were distributed each morning in the hotel lobby for teams, staff and fans to enjoy.

“It was a lot of work,” Moses said, “but it was a rewarding experience and I was proud when they were done.”

Moses is on track to graduate from Central Missouri in May 2010. She said she plans to stay in athletics administration and is considering the NCAA’s postgraduate scholarship or national office internship programs as potential next steps.

Whatever the outcome, Moses said her experience at the MIAA has prepared her well.

“I like the way they have let me run with my own programs. They have given me my own responsibilities, and because of that I’ve been able to improve what I know I need to work on,” she said. “They’ve let me do so many things, whether they be in promotions or compliance or media relations – they’ve let me inside all of that.”

As job experiences go, it was kind of like prime real estate for a woman who used to sell it.